This is the fourth time that the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four is being held in Minneapolis. The University of Minnesota hosted the inaugural Frozen Four at Mariucci Arena in 2001, and also hosted the Frozen Four in 2006 (Mariucci Arena) and 2010 (Ridder Arena).

This is just the second time Minnesota and Boston University have met in women’s hockey. Minnesota won the previous meeting, 4-2, on Oct. 6, 2007 at Ridder Arena.

Minnesota is in its ninth NCAA Frozen Four and its second straight appearance. The Gophers are now 4-1 in five appearances in the NCAA national championship game, having previously won national titles in 2004, 2005 and 2012, while finishing second in 2006.

The national title is Minnesota’s fifth in program history, including the American Women’s College Hockey Alliance (AWCHA) national title in 2000 in Boston, Mass. Including the three AWCHA national tournaments held prior to the NCAA beginning its national tournament in 2001, Minnesota has now tied Minnesota-Duluth with five overall national titles. New Hampshire won the first AWCHA national title in 1998 and Harvard won the title in 1999.

It marks the third time in NCAA Women’s Frozen Four history that a team has won the national title on its home ice; Minnesota-Duluth won the national titles on its home ice in both 2003 and 2008.

Minnesota is making its 11th appearance in the NCAA postseason and 14th overall (Minnesota competed in AWCHA national tournaments in 1998, 1999 and 2000, prior to the NCAA beginning its national tournament in 2001). Minnesota is now 15-8-1 all-time in NCAA tournament games and 18-11-1 in overall national tournament games, including AWCHA contests.

With the victory, Minnesota finishes 41-0-0 this season, the most wins in a single season in NCAA Division I women’s hockey history and the first unbeaten season in NCAA Division I women’s hockey history.

With the victory, Minnesota extended its NCAA-record winning streak to 49 straight games. Minnesota’s last loss was a 2-1 overtime loss to North Dakota at Ridder Arena on Feb. 17, 2012. The Gophers won their last eight games of the 2011-12 season to claim the national title.

With the win, Minnesota also improved upon its NCAA record for consecutive home victories, claiming its 27th straight victory at Ridder Arena. The Gophers entered the Frozen Four tied for the consecutive home-win record with Harvard (25 wins at home from March 1, 2002 to Jan. 11, 2004).

Minnesota has scored four or more goals in each of their previous national championship victories – a 4-2 win over Wisconsin in 2012, a 4-3 win over Harvard in 2005, a 6-2 win over Harvard in 2004 and a 4-2 win over Brown in 2000 (AWCHA).

The NCAA women’s hockey national championship trophy has now belonged to a Western Collegiate Hockey Association program in each of the 13 seasons since the NCAA began the Women’s Frozen Four in 2001. Minnesota-Duluth has won the national title five times (2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010), while Minnesota (2004, 2005, 2012, 2013) and Wisconsin (2006, 2007, 2009, 2011) have won the title four times each. WCHA teams have now won 30 of the 43 NCAA Frozen Four games played, with Minnesota-Duluth winning 11 games, Wisconsin winning 10 and Minnesota winning nine.

Amanda Kessel scored twice in Sunday’s game, a goal at the 16:02 mark of the second period and an unassisted tally at the 19:11 mark of the third period. She also claimed two assists for a four-point night, giving her 28 multi-point games this season. Kessel has a goal or assist in 35 of her 37 games this season. It was her 15th multi-goal game of the season, and the 12th time she has had four or more points in a game this season.

The nation’s scoring leader and winner of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award as the top player in collegiate women’s hockey, Amanda Kessel finished with 46 goals and 55 assists for 101 points this season, becoming the fourth player in NCAA women’s hockey history – and the third Gopher – to record 100 or more points in a single season. Minnesota’s Natalie Darwitz had 114 points (42 goals,72 assists) in 2004-05, Jennifer Botterill of Harvard had 112 points (47 goals, 65 assists) in 2002-03 and Krissy Wendell of Minnesota had 104 points (43 goals, 61 assists) in 2004-05 and now has 95 goals and 135 assists for 230 points in her 113-game collegiate career – fourth in school history in career points. Kessel finished the season leading the nation in goals (1.24 per-game), assists (1.49 per-game) and total points (2.73 per-game).

Rachel Ramsey claimed her third multi-assist game of the season with her two-assist performance, adding a goal in the third period to give her a three-point game -- her second of the season. The effort gave her nine goals and 20 assists for 29 points. She has a goal or assist in 20 of her 41 games this season. In 82 career games, Ramsey now has 13 goals and 41 assists for 54 career points.

Maryanne Menefee claimed her sixth multi-assist game of the season with her three-assist performance – her first three-assist game of the season. The effort gave her 16 goals and 22 assists for 38 points this season. She has a goal or assist in 22 of her 35 games this season.

Minnesota struck first in the national championship game, as Mira Jalosuo scored a power-play goal from Rachel Ramsey and Sarah Davis at the 11:38 mark of the first period. The goal was Jalosuo’s 11th of the season and her seventh power-play goal of the year, tied for fourth-best on the team in the category. Jalosuo has a goal or assist in 26 of her 41 games this season. Jalosuo now has 19 goals and 38 assists for 57 points in her 153-game collegiate career.

Sarah Davis, who claimed the game-winning overtime goal in Minnesota’s 3-2 semifinal win over Boston College on Friday, assisted on Jalosuo’s power-play marker. Davis now has seven goals and 18 assists for 25 points this season, with a goal or assist in 18 of her 38 games played. In her 115 career games, Davis now has 30 goals and 61 assists for 91 points.

Minnesota scored its 14th shorthanded goal of the season at the 18:32 mark of the first period, when Hannah Brandt scored from Amanda Kessel and Baylee Gilanders. Minnesota’s 14 shorthanded goals are the most in Division I women’s hockey season, and the Gophers are the only team with more than seven shorthanded goals this season.

Hannah Brandt claimed her 33rd goal of the season and second shorthanded tally of the year. She finished fifth in the nation in total goals with her 33 goals (seventh in goals per-game with 0.80), and is now third nationally with 82 points (33 goals, 49 assists). Her 2.00 goals per-game is tied for fourth-best nationally Brandt now has a goal or assist in 35 of her 41 games played this season. Her 82 points are a Minnesota freshman record.

Baylee Gilanders claimed her 12th assist of the season and 23rd assist of her 120-game career with the helper on Brandt’s shorthanded goal. Gilanders now has a goal and 12 assist for 13 points this season and three goals and 23 assists for 26 points in her career.

Milica McMillen scored a power-play goal at the 19:48 mark of the second period to give the Gophers a 4-1 lead. The goal marked her third point of the Frozen Four, as she had two assists in the win over Boston College on Friday. McMillen has now had a goal or assist in 21 of her 35 games this season, and now has 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points.

Bozek recorded her second assist of the Frozen Four with her helper on McMillen’s goal. The game is the 33rd in which Megan Bozek has had a goal or an assist this season, and the 15th in her last 16 games. Bozek now has 20 goals and 37 assists for 57 points this season, and 47 goals and 99 assists for 146 points in her 157 career games.

Goalie Noora Raty earned tournament Most Outstanding Player honors with her 21 save effort. Raty stopped 47 of the 52 shots she faced in the national tournament. Raty finished the season with a 38-0-0 record, a 0.96 goals against-average (second-best in Division I nationally) and .956 save percentage (tops in Division I), allowing just 36 goals on 812 shots this year. She also had 17 shutouts. Raty closed her Gopher career with a 114-17-8 record, a 1.34 GAA, .946 save percentage and 43 shutouts in 139 games played.

Boston University Notes

This is the fourth consecutive year that Boston University has reached the NCAA women’s hockey playoffs, and the second time the Terriers have reached the Frozen Four. In its last appearance in 2011, Boston University reached the national title game, but fell 4-1 to Wisconsin. The Terriers are now 4-4-0 all-time in NCAA tournament games.

The Terriers had a 10-game winning streak snapped with the loss to Minnesota, finishing 28-6-3 on the season. Boston University’s last loss prior to Sunday was a 3-0 setback to Harvard on Feb. 12.

The loss marked the first time Boston University had trailed in its entire six-game postseason.

Marie-Philip Poulin recorded a goal and assist in Saturday’s game, her 19th multi-point game of the season and 42nd of her career. It’s the eighth time in her last 10 games that Poulin has had multiple-point efforts. Poulin now has 19 goals and 36 assists for 55 points on the season, with the assist and point totals both single-season school records. In her 79 games as a Terrier, Poulin now has 54 goals and 73 assists for 127 points. Her 127 points are now third-most in school history, while her 73 assists are second-most and her 53 goals are also third-most.

Poulin has scored a goal or assist in 29 of her 35 games this season, including the last nine games in a row.

Jenelle Kohanchuk scored for the Terriers at the 17:08 mark of the third period, her team-leading 25th goal of the season and second of the Frozen Four. She finished with has 46 points (25 goals, 21 assists) in 35 games this season, and had a goal or assist in 25 games this year, including eight of the last nine games. In her 133-game career, Kohanchuk now has 66 goals and 72 assists for 137 career points. The 66 goals and 135 points are both Boston University career records, while the 72 assists are the third-most in school history.

Kohanchuk has 12 goals and six assists for 18 points in the last nine games for the Terriers.

Sarah Lefort scored her 24th goal of the season, a power-play tally at the 18:48 mark of the first period. The goal was her sixth power-play tally of the season, tying Jenelle Kohanchuk for the team-high. It was her 16th game with a goal (sixth in her last eight games) and 26th game with either a goal or assist (sixth in last seven games) this season. Lefort finished fourth on the team in scoring, with 24 goals and 19 assists for 43 points.

Jill Cardella and Kathryn Miller each played in 151 games in their career, never missing a game in four seasons for the Terriers. Cardella and Miller are the first Terriers ever to play in 150-plus games in their career. Cardella finished with 31 goals and 57 assists for 88 points in her career, while Miller finished with 10 goals and 38 assists for 48 points.

Goalie Kerrin Sperry finished 24-5-3 on the season with a 23-save effort in the loss. She had 49 saves on 55 shots in the Frozen Four. Sperry finished the season with a 24-5-3 record, 2.20 goals against-average and .919 save percentage, to go along with four shutouts. She has a 64-23-7 record, 2.14 GAA and .920 save percentage in her 94-game collegiate career.